BMW Strikes First with Adaptive Cruise Control Feature
Adaptive cruise control has been coming for a long time now to the two-wheeled world, and in the past couple of years we have seen more than a few European brands playing with the technology (all of which are likely working with Bosch to integrate this feature).
Already
a staple in the automotive industry, now adaptive cruise control comes to the
motorcycle industry, with BMW Motorrad being the first company to feature the
tech on its bikes, which the company calls “Active Cruise Control” (ACC).
The
name is self-descriptive, with the adaptive cruise control system using radar
to judge the distance of a moving vehicle in front of the rider, and the
adapting the speed of the motorcycle to meet that flow of traffic.
This
means that a rider can set speed on their cruise control system, and not have
to worry about having to constantly readjust that speed according to the ebb
and the flow of the vehicles in front of them.
Coupled
to this, the following-distance is also adjustable on the BMW system, which means
that the adaptive cruise control will maintain a desired distance from the
vehicle(s) ahead.
Of note, the adaptive the cruise control system doesn't respond to left vehicles, which implies, that a rider will still have to control the bike’s throttle and distance when in
stop-and-go traffic.
Another component to bring up is that the versatile
journey control will likewise increase itself during turns when it is important
to keep up maintain motorcycle stability when leaned over.
Available in two
modes, with three pursuit distance levels, the system engages from the handlebar on the BMW and works in concert with the Dynamic Cruise Control
(DCC) feature already found on BMW motorcycles.
It is not clear when
BMW Motorrad plans on making this feature available, and on what bikes it will
be offered, but we can safely assume that the adaptive cruise control feature
will be on the German company’s touring and high-end motorcycles, like the BMW
K1600GT.
We would also expect
to see 2021 model year machines featuring adaptive cruise control, when they
debut later this year.